Respect wanes: Teaching no longer highly coveted job in S. Korea

When a 23-year-old man surnamed Choi entered an "education university" to receive teacher training in South Korea three years ago, he believed he was stepping into a highly-coveted profession. Like many before him, he saw teaching as a stable, meaningful job. But today, as he finds that teachers are no longer respected as educators or moral guides, Choi is reconsidering everything. Overwhelmed by the declining authority of teachers in schools and concerned about the profession's long-term prospe

May 4, 2025

Why S. Korean mothers are opting for C-sections at record rates

When 33-year-old Lee, who is due to give birth in four weeks, made her birth plan, she had no medical complications, no known risks and no family history of difficult pregnancies. But she had already decided: her first child would be delivered by cesarean section. “Soon-to-be mothers around me choose C-section as natural birth comes with a lot of pain,” she said. “People say it’s a matter of choice. If you go with natural birth, you recover faster. But with C-section, it’s less painful at the mo

May 3, 2025

Deadline passes for medical students to return to class

A mass repeat of academic years for South Korean medical students has become a reality after the deadline for returning to classes passed at midnight Wednesday, with only a small number of last-minute returns. As a result, a rare “tripling” scenario — where three cohorts of first-year pre-medical students take the same classes simultaneously — now appears inevitable. All 40 medical schools across the country had finalized their lists of students who failed to return to class as of midnight, acco

May 1, 2025

[팟캐스트] (684) 최초 레즈비언 연애 프로

First Korean lesbian dating reality show to stream on Wavve 진행자: 최정윤, Tannith Kriel 기사 요약: 국내 최초 레즈비언 연애 리얼리티 프로그램 '너의 연애'가 베일을 벗고 티저 영상을 공개했다. [1] South Korea’s first dating reality show featuring exclusively lesbian participants is set to premiere later this month. Korean streaming platform Wavve announced it will exclusively launch a new reality dating series,“ToGetHer,” on April 25, releasing the show's teaser on YouTube. The teaser has English subtitles for global audiences. feature: 선보이다 e

May 1, 2025

Over 40% of child sex exploitation victims targeted via chat apps: report

Four out of 10 child and teenage victims of sex exploitation in South Korea last year were targeted through online chat applications, according to a new government report set to be released Thursday. The 2024 annual report by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the Korea Women’s Human Rights Institute found that the most common method of exploitation was through so-called “compensated dating,” often initiated on anonymous online platforms. The findings are based on support data collec

April 30, 2025

Seoul bus 'slowdown' causes minor commuting disruptions

Seoul’s public bus drivers launched a “work-to-rule” protest Wednesday morning, marking the first time that the city’s bus union has taken such action instead of a full strike. A "work-to-rule" action, also known as an "Italian strike" or "slowdown," is a form of industrial action in which employees strictly adhere to the rules of their job contract, doing only the minimum required. This can reduce productivity and disrupt operations, serving as a form of protest without a complete work stoppage

April 30, 2025

Student stabs 7 in Cheongju -- school safety back in focus

A high school student in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, went on a stabbing rampage early Monday morning, injuring multiple school staff members and civilians before being apprehended, according to local authorities. The incident began at approximately 8:33 a.m. at a high school in Heungdeok-gu, when an 18-year-old second-year student attacked a special education teacher during a counseling session. According to police and the Chungbuk Office of Education, the student, who had been designa

April 28, 2025

Coex fire contained, no casualties reported

The fire at Seoul's Coex convention center Friday morning has been completely extinguished, a little over two hours after it broke out at 11:06 a.m., with no reported casualties. According to the rescue authorities, the fire was brought under complete control at around 1:14 p.m., after 121 firefighters and 33 fire engines contained the main flames at around 11:40 p.m. Events, including the World IT show 2025, inside the center resumed at around 1:20 p.m. The fire is suspected to have originated

April 25, 2025

Policy Watch: Kim Moon-soo pledges anti-noise tech mandatory in houses

Presidential hopeful Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party vowed Friday to make top-tier noise-reduction technology in newly built apartment complexes mandatory, amid growing public concern over noise disputes in South Korea’s densely populated urban areas. The former labor minister said he would ensure children can “run and play freely” in their homes by requiring new residential buildings to use the best domestically developed soundproofing solutions. “South Korea has already secured 12 verif

April 25, 2025

Policy Watch: Lee Jae-myung vows to turn Seoul into global finance center, Gyeonggi, mega-chip cluster

Democratic Party of Korea presidential contender Lee Jae-myung unveiled his blueprint for Korea's central regions, elevating Seoul as a world-class financial center on par with New York, and connecting Yeouido and Yongsan into an international finance and business district. Lee also pledged to make Gyeonggi Province the global heart of semiconductor production, establishing a megacluster spanning Suwon, Yongin, Hwaseong and Pyeongtaek, to cover the full value chain from R&D to manufacturing. Str

April 25, 2025